XH-A1 Firewire Problems

G

geehawk

New member
So my XH-A1 stopped interfacing with my computer via firewire... I tried replacing the firewire pcb assembly board($35 from Canon parts direct), but the issue remains. From what I've read it is likely a bad system board. Unfortunately, the warranty ended in May and I live in Minnesota which doesn't exactly make for a quick trip to any of Canon's service centers.

Parts direct quoted me ~$550 for a new system board, but I'm not really comfortable replacing it, because it would require dissasembling the entire camera.

I've also considered buying a cheaper HDV camera and using it as a deck. I'm really hoping to keep my costs below $600-700, so is the HV30 a good solution?

Also, is it possible to capture component out via an intensity pro from an HDV tape? (i know live capture is possible, but I'm not sure about tape). How would compression work in that scenario? I'm guessing that it would capture as "uncompressed" footage and require a ridiculous amount of throughput, even though the footage has undergone HDV compression already... Doesn't sound like a very effective solution, but I'm considering buying an intensity pro anyway (for live capture), so I figured I'd ask what you guys thought.

Thanks a ton,

OH and if anyone has, and would like to sell, a broken HDV camera that can still capture footage from tape... :)
 
I'm having the same problem. It might be best to buy an HV 10, 20 , 30 or 40 to use as a deck, you will have an extra smaller camera for another angle and solve your problem as well.

How did you replace the firewire cirduit board? Are there instructions online?
 
There are other posts with this problem, the consensus is, always connect up the A1/Fwire then power everything up. Don't know about component capture out and intensity pro.

Yes we use Canon HV20 and a 40 to xfer A1/S files in post. We use the HV remote to shuttle the tape, it avoids wear through punching the buttons on the LCD and we can place the HV further away on the editing desk.

Even buying a new HV40 means you have a second/holiday cam, but note, Nov 2011 Canon discontinued them so I'd guess used ones will go up in price. HTH

Cheers.
 
yup, get an hv 20,-30-40, as a deck, heck for the price of the fix, you could buy two. But if you need the firwire to record to a firestore or external recorder, then you have no choice but to have it fixed. I use my xha1 s with a citidisk because it has six pin firewire, where the xha1 has the four pin, and it's wobbly when using the firewire port on the four pin.
 
+1 if you use the A1 or A1s to xfer via FW, use their remote to shuttle the tape .. especially with the 4 pin FW on the A1.

Take care moving the A1 on the editing desk with that flimsy connection.

Just inserting the FW 4pin plug is an exercise taking care and patience. Use both hands and take a deep breath :)

Cheers.
 
I use an HV10 as a deck for this reason - I had a similar problem with my XH-A1 and, having got it repaired, decided not to take any more chances.
 
Thats interesting, I honestly didn't know the hv10 could transfer the 24f from the xha1. I imagine the hv10 is even cheaper than the 20, as it didn't do as well in the market.
 
maranfilms said:
Thats interesting, I honestly didn't know the hv10 could transfer the 24f from the xha1. I imagine the hv10 is even cheaper than the 20, as it didn't do as well in the market.
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Can't speak for 24f because I'm in 25f PAL-land. The HV10 works fine and saves a lot of wear and tear on the A1 heads.

I've just bought a Datavideo DN60 - records to Compactflash - to go tapeless and, I hope, consign head wear to history. Not a solution for bad FW port, because the DN-60 connects via that port. But if you have the port working, it's looking like a really good solution
 
Even if you do use the A1 to xfer your programs, you'll eventually upgrade your A1 long before you get anywhere near to wearing out its heads.

But damage can occur to tape heads, I know of an instance where someone poked a screwdriver wrapped in a damp tissue to remove dried sand after a trip to the beach.

So when Canon do install new heads, they also install all new tape guides because all DV tapes will wear a distinct individual pattern on the tape path.
Even if the camera has just a few hours on it, it's cheaper to change everything rather than spend the time aligning a new path.

So they go by the book in case the customer complains, maybe after changing tape brands. Tapes are made to very strict DV specs, but some cheap Asian brands .. ?

Cheers.
 
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I bought an HV30 off Ebay, to keep the cost low I bought one that came with an NTG2 shotgun mic which I will sell on bay when it arrives. I found a tech in florida that will replace that firewire circuit board for $125 labor. I bought the board from canon for under $40 but you have to disassemble the side of the camera, which is not something I want to do wrong. He said if someone plugged in the firewire cable backwards, the main board gets 12 volts and it fries, if that happened, he won't charge me for the diagnosis.
 
The Firewire connector on my XH-A1 has gotten flaky, but I've found I can get through a show by pulling the cable towards the handle. I use Velcro cable ties on all my cables, and I use the one on my Firewire cable to secure the cable to the handle. I shoot to Adobe OnLocation and since starting to do this I have not had a failure during a show. I shoot tape as a backup, but haven't needed it in a while.
 
Yes that's the reason Canon upgraded from a 4 pin to the 6 pin FW arrangement on the A1 S model, it's much more stable, but if you don't carefully push this cable plug in straight every time, it'll get flaky to.

But I'd find a more permanent solution than Velcro, Murphys law will kick in and it'll fail at a critical time.

If you feel comfortable with this, try very carefully pinching the top and bottom of the A1 FW socket together with a pair of needle nose pliers. Just one very small adjustment should do it, then try it to see it makes more stable contact with the FW plug.

Don't do this if you're not ofay with it and I'm not responsible if it goes wrong.

Cheers.
 
Allan Black said:
Yes that's the reason Canon upgraded from a 4 pin to the 6 pin FW arrangement on the A1 S model, it's much more stable, but if you don't carefully push this cable plug in straight every time, it'll get flaky to.

But I'd find a more permanent solution than Velcro, Murphys law will kick in and it'll fail at a critical time.

If you feel comfortable with this, try very carefully pinching the top and bottom of the A1 FW socket together with a pair of needle nose pliers. Just one very small adjustment should do it, then try it to see it makes more stable contact with the FW plug.

Don't do this if you're not ofay with it and I'm not responsible if it goes wrong.

Cheers.
Click to expand...
Good suggestion, I'll try that. I'm fairly brave about working on my A1. I took apart the handle and wound up rebuilding the microphone assembly, drilling through the broken plastic bit and putting two #2 machine screws, washers and lock-nuts in instead. Sure, it probably resulted in slightly more low-level noise, but I never use that mic - I just didn't want the stupid thing dangling anymore.
 
So the onboard mic support was broken, like .. snapped off?

That head of that mic is supposed to be kinda loose, Canon made it that way to absorb hand held camera vibrations
and noise from getting on your sound track.

Cheers.
 
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